Exorcism of a Demon: Black Wings
by Fireflower19
Summary: In modern times they come back to rid the world of a 'demon'. *Sister story to 'Exorcism of an Angel: White Wings'*


Disclaimer: I will keep dreaming that one day I will not need this. But D.N. Angel is still not mine.

**)*(**Exorcism of a Demon: Black Wings**)*(**

By: Fireflower19

-Sister Story to-

**)*(**Exorcism of an Angel: White Wings**)*(**

By: intelligenceisstupid

Guuji: means "head priest".

**A/N:**** I honestly don't know too much about the Guuji, so forgive me if the exorcism here isn't completely accurate. I've taken a bit of what I know and a bit of what I've seen and mixed them together here. So I hope it comes close, if nothing else.**

**-****)*(****-**

The extravagant marble floors of the vast museum were alive with noise. Both upper and lower levels quivered under the thunderous roar of hurried footsteps. The police knew where Dark was hiding. Or, at least, they liked to think they knew. Night bled in freely from the high, elegant windows; the lights unable to stave it off due to the power shorting out. Underneath one of these windows a grin formed, seeming to float all on its own until a face came together shortly thereafter.

"It doesn't matter how often I use that trick; they still don't learn." The purple-haired phantom chuckled quietly to himself, happily listening to the commotion he'd caused and the distant yelling of the law enforcement.

"Cameras three and nine spotted Dark on the first floor before the power failure!"

"Cameras two and four had spotted the thief on the second floor!"

"Unit Three reports one of their guys as MIA!"

"Rear Guard of Unit Three reports the target artifact as missing! Unit Eight, what is going on? Weren't your orders to cover the target?"

"Unit Eight here, the artifact is still present. Rear Guard of Unit Three is currently MIA. Trace his signal and you'll find Dark. Over."

"Bet you won't," Dark nearly hummed, traipsing freely up to the closed double doors of the room that held the prize... and Unit Eight. The phantom thief had already discarded the Rear Guard uniform on top of the roof. It was so easy to distract and create diversions with these guys. They just didn't have a good network of communication and hadn't learned yet that it didn't take much tampering or effort to screw with the film in the cameras. Or that their formation for their officers left multiple weak links. All Dark really had to consider was which officer's role he wanted to fool around with for the night. Course, a Rear Guard on the _outside_ should not have been near enough to the artifact to report said artifact as missing. But everyone was now sprinting here or there and had left the floor completely clear.

"So pitifully easy," Dark laughed. "I hope the Hiwatari kid's here to give me a challenge."

**'And I hope not. I want to finish this without incident,'** Daisuke link-spoke softly, as if he was afraid his mental voice could carry into the next room and get them caught. **'You always have to play with fire, Dark. It drives me insane!'**

'Adventure comes with the territory, Daisuke.' The kaito grinned, leaning an ear against the cool, mahogany wood of the large doors before him. One more Unit to get out of the way; one more Unit to have fun with, then everything would be over and he'd have what he came for.

**'Not like how –'**

'Shh! I'm trying to think! Do you want to get us caught?'

Daisuke grumbled irritably in their mind, but gave up arguing for the crucial time being. Dark straightened, and With jumped out of a dark corner to land on his shoulders. Extending his hands, Dark trailed them along the doors to check for any traps. His touch was light and quick. Satisfied there weren't any, he retracted them and used one to rub his chin thoughtfully. With stretched like a cat where he was perched.

"The question now is: how am I going to get them out here?" This set of guards wouldn't leave their post as easily as the others. They were the more "polished" of the police force. It would take something big to get the five burly men he knew were in there to move. Something that left them no choice... An amethyst orb peeked through the large keyhole, studying the circular room and the men facing each other in star-patterned formation. The glass pedestal holding the cursed artifact he was after was in their center. How appropriate.

**'There's also five cameras to consider; each pointing and watching one of the guards. Seems they **_**have**_** learned a bit about your methods after all. Even taking out the main power and re-wiring the back-up generator hasn't interfered with the power supply back here.'**

Up in the domed roof of the room blinked five little red dots, revealing the cameras Daisuke was talking about. But if he watched closely it seemed as if the red dots moved every so often. Almost in a sweeping motion. Dark straightened and looked around to be sure none of the other guards were sneaking their way back before he bent back to the keyhole and seriously studied those red dots. His pupils turned to slits and that's when he saw the frames of the cameras. These babies were high-tech! Not only were they equipped with thermal vision, not only did they move in a 180 degree arch, but they were encased in what he would guess as hard polyurethane. None of their wires showed, giving him no means of cutting them. As if he could get the chance with them as synchronized as they were. Granted the room had a radius of about fifteen feet (which made most of those cameras overkill) but no one camera was ever out of view of another. Which meant no distracting the guards and sneaking directly underneath to one's blind side and disabling them one at a time.

'Phew!' Dark whistled to his Tamer. 'They really mean to catch me this time!'

**'We'd better hurry. Units Five and Six should have been back already. We don't have much time. It might be best to bail this effort and approach from another angle.'**

To his surprise, Dark chortled.

'It's already too late, Daisuke. Units Five and Six won't be back. They and the rest of them stand waiting at any and all exits. They weren't sure where I was, but they knew I was inside the building. So now, they've made the museum into a kind of prison.'

**'Dark...'** Daisuke breathed. Fear as strong as when he'd underwent his first heist snaked through him. **'What do you mean? Are we trapped?'** Dark snickered and backed away from the doors, crossing his arms behind his head. With 'kyuu'ed slightly next to his ear as he repositioned for better balance at the movement.

'As if! Why do you underestimate me so?' Dark jeered, but with a laugh. He enjoyed throwing Daisuke for a loop before "rescuing" the situation and showing off. The inner redhead growled.

**'Dark! Would you stop messing around? Let's get this over with! I'm tired of my stomach always being in knots while you're doing nothing but having fun!'**

The kaito's mental laughter faded, but the smile stayed firmly etched on his face.

'Relax. You're no fun! Live a little," the phantom thief chastised. Daisuke pouted and retreated a little further within their mind. Dark shrugged and shook his head. Would Daisuke never learn to love this thrilling life?

With his hands still clasped behind his head, the kaito walked in tight circles before the elaborately carved doors, thinking. With stayed where he was, swaying gently against the thief. Every now and again Dark paused to look through the keyhole, more worried about those cameras than the five guards inside. And with good reason – during one of his brief pauses he noticed something else about the undoubtedly expensive equipment: they were armed! With what he wasn't sure, but he saw the small barrel that followed smoothly underneath the protruding camera lens.

'Wow...' This was getting harder and harder with each recalculation.

'Looks like I've got no choice,' Dark said with an inward chuckle, making Daisuke cringe.

**'What are you about to do?'**

'The only option is to take those cameras out, no doubt about it.'

**'B-but I thought we didn't even have exposed wires to attempt going over to!'**

'We don't. And all this technology is forcing me to stay ahead of the times.' Dark reached behind his back with both hands to his belt, unhooking two small devices that fit into each one of his hands. One looked like a flat, digital clock taped to putty, the other to be a grenade of some sort. Daisuke felt his sanity slip and began to mutter incoherently at the sight. Dark could only laugh. With ruffled his silky fur, seeming to give a smile before he jumped down to the floor, awaiting the time he'd be needed again.

_This has got to be done fast._

Dark readied the small grappling hook neatly concealed in his sneaking suit on his right wrist. With a press of his knuckles he extended the spear-like device halfway past his hand, then locked it into position. He wouldn't be firing it, but he would need it. Glancing above the doorway to ensure a strong support for the hook, Dark took a deep breath, grinned, and with adrenaline flooding him, kicked in the double doors with a loud _crack_! All at once the guards – barely fazed by his abrupt appearance – faced him and reached for the weapons at their sides. A wall of highly-trained muscle clothed in blue uniform closed in fast before him, quickly hiding the glass pedestal and his target from sight.

But the encroaching and somewhat overwhelming policemen were nothing compared to the swiveling cameras. The electronic whine of them was unnerving, and their blinking red dots turned to steady sight beams that scattered across the kaito's chest. Dark walked a step towards it all into the room and then another and crouched. Red sights followed. He had only seconds.

Before the men had his view of the opposite walk throughly blocked he flicked his wrist and sent the digital clock with the putty flying. The putty narrowly flew through the narrowing space between the men and stuck with a _splat_. As all of Unit Eight whipped their heads around to see what it was, Dark quickly back-flipped and jumped above the door, ramming his hook into the wall just as the guards started panicking at the red numbered countdown.

It read: 00:00.12

The men couldn't stampede out fast enough. Before the last one zoomed away Dark pulled the pin of the grenade in his hand with his teeth. With a merry laugh to himself, he threw it into the room below. Three seconds later a loud _bang_ went off. Dark released his hook and dropped like a spider, racing into the room, which was now full of raining glitter. 

**'What?'** Daisuke questioned at the gold-looking foil floating all around. The air was thick with it. Dark was busy making a bee-line for the glass case, but said, "Look at the cameras." Through amethyst eyes, Daisuke did, and saw that all five cameras were reeling crazily in their brackets.

Dark reached the glass case and smashed it just as a loud announcement came over every speaker in the building.

_"A POTENTIAL PLASTIC EXPLOSIVE HAS BEEN SET ON THE SECOND FLOOR! ALL PERSONEL EVACUATE THE VACINITY IMMEDIATELY. I REPEAT: ALL PERSONEL EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!"_

**'Dark!'** Daisuke cried after Dark lifted from the ruined pedestal, the _Dragon's Eye_ ruby tightly clutched in his palm. The thief had immediately looked up to the only window of the room, but the wall to the left of it is what had the Wing Tamer in such a fit. The bright digital numbers there read out: 00:00.5

** 'We're gonna die!'**

'No, we're not.' Dark briskly walked to and retrieved his clock, unsticking it from the wall and clipping it back onto his belt, along with securing the ruby in a pouch at his side. 'It's a fake, Daisuke. Sheesh. But I don't have time to baby you; this room's about to clear and the cameras about to come back online.'

Daisuke became red in the face. **'B-baby? Maybe if you told me about –'**

"Fine," Dark relented as he spun out of the room. (The window had a nasty wire trap that he didn't feel he had adequate enough time to mess with.) With 'kyuu'ed and bounded after the kaito's fast moving heels. "You want to know what that grenade was?" Dark didn't give Daisuke time to answer, "It was a chaff grenade. Pay more attention to your thieving life, would ya?"

They skidded around a corner at full speed. Daisuke was too embarrassed to ask what the sudden rush was about. **'Glory hog...'** he mumbled.

'Baby,' Dark teased back.

Using the map he'd memorized, Dark mentally calculated his position and started looking up for the certain air vent he'd noted. All he had to do was move through that duct until he reached the outside. At which there was a perfect tree for him to easily jump five feet out to and crawl down, leaving With to impersonate him as the furry partner led everyone off his trail.

Speaking of...

"With, it's time for the final phase of tonight." Dark looked over his shoulder to the floor, where With was hopping rapidly to keep up. "Kyyuuu." Strawberry-red eyes gleamed in the darkness before stopping and turning for the other direction. Dark smirked and silently wished his familiar luck. A few minutes later the kaito found the duct, opened it, and hoisted himself up through it, detaching the vent cover at the end and pushing it under his knees and well behind him.

Humid air greeted his nose. And so did the sight of cops stalking the grassy yard below. Out on the paved streets and past the branches of the pine, a crowd had gathered; admirers and haters alike watching for him to either make it, or lose it all. Dark smiled, excitement swelling his heart. A cooling breeze blew, drying the sweat gathering on his forehead and neck. He took a minute to close his eyes and savor the moment; the extraordinary feel of it; the wildness of it.

Suddenly Sergeant Takeshi's voice bellowed over a loudspeaker, "DARK IS FLYING AWAY FROM THE BUILDING ON THE SOUTH-WEST SIDE! DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE! YOUR BADGES GO WITH HIM IF YOU DO!"

"Tsk, tsk," said Dark as he watched the men below scramble to chase after his decoy. He was looking particularly haughty with his shimmering eyes narrowed to mere slits and a smirk stretching almost from ear-to-ear.

**'The Sergeant's not really going to fire them all, is he?'** Daisuke asked worriedly. **'I bet they all have families to support...'**

'The old git won't fire any of them. He needs all the manpower he can get to stop me!'

**'...The size of your ego never ceases to amaze me...'**

"Police have begun chasing The Phantom Thief on foot. It appears he was able to get outside the building's perimeter without alerting police, and now he travels to the South-West riding on his infamous black wings. If you look behind me you might get lucky and –" Dark watched the good-looking news reporter attentively as she talked to the bulky camera equipment.

She had flowing hair... and great lips.

He didn't stall for too much longer. The duct wasn't very big height-wise, so he had to jump cat-like. He landed on all-fours on a large branch, barely rustling any of the straw-like leaves. It was child's play sliding down and hiding from public view. On the ground he ran hunched, using scattered bushes as shields. He eventually crossed the paved road further down, far from wondering eyes. In the distance Dark could see With baiting the police further and further away, hopping from treetop to treetop and thoroughly enjoying the exercise. Dark ran snickering past a few of Azumano's finest shops, detouring into an alleyway. His feet flew over the cobblestones and splashed into an evaporating puddle.

He slowed to a stop and turned to look behind him. Something didn't feel right. Something was wrong; out of place. And it was making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

"Krad?" Dark asked into the humid night. But the moment he uttered the name, it, too, felt wrong. Whatever the source of foreboding, it wasn't Krad.

Dark stood his ground, although aside from Krad it was rare he ever felt the need to. But a thrum in his veins told of something coming for him. A hot gaze was closing in on him, battering at his skin as if it were the midday sun; all too plausible, though he couldn't see a thing out of the ordinary. A too sweet scent wafted through the alley, cloying his nose and very pores of his skin. Underneath it was a much lighter scent of cleansing sage.

Dark growled, his feral senses rising high. His heart quickened and canines shined white in the darkness, revealed as he opened his mouth to be rid of the sickening scent clogging the air. Ears pricked and caught a sound – a soft whisper, a couple of people making their way down the way he'd just came.

**'Dark, what's going on? I don't like this? Why is the air so smelly and heavy?'**

'Dai, just stay calm and let me handle the situation,' Dark responded, very tense. It made a shiver run his spine. What could have Dark this serious? What could be worse than what they had just faced back at the museum?

Amethyst slits narrowed further as two somber men wearing formal white haori stepped forward. Both proudly bore intricate crests of some whimsical fashion, and both were fanning the air with large rolls of smoldering leaves. Their wooden sandals clicked in measured steps. It grated on the kaito's suddenly stretched nerves. How could they be walking forward like they were? As if he wasn't but a landmark in front of them? Dark roared loudly, breaking the near total silence as he fought a rising tide of his own magic. He quieted abruptly, staring blankly in utter confusion at his own abnormal reaction.

They were... fiends! The fiends were somehow stirring his magic against his will!

No...

They weren't the fiends here...

He was.

It finally clicked in his mind where these people had come from and what is was they were doing.

"No..." His eyes flared wide.

These people were Guuji. Their crests brought back images of an ancient and beautiful shrine – new a few centuries ago, with pure waters beyond a wooden gate. White statues of foxes had guarded the only passage leading into the sacred place.

"What are they doing here? Now of all times?" The phantom thief couldn't fathom. He and the Niwas had managed to keep away from them for all their many lives. Who had revived this particular group in this age? And how did they predict him to pin him in their ceremony?

He got his answer almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind.

Kei loomed behind him by a short distance, a large, silver cross resembling a dagger clutched before his chest. A gorgeous amethyst stone was set between the cross arms, and a feather darker than night dangled at its very end.

"I've waited a long while for this – waited patiently to be rid of the Niwas and their troublesome ways. And now I've decided to attack at the source of all their success."

Dark twisted to face Kei, swallowing a lump of fear in his throat as the stone in the cross began to glow eerily. It was a soft light that seemed to be getting brighter; pulsing, reaching to tune itself with the thief. Kei smiled nastily and proceeded to slowly step forward towards the kaito, much to his grievance.

"The Niwas really are despicable; siding and working with a _demon_ in order to steal what they want – what is not rightfully theirs!" A mad glint was alight in Kei's eyes. Dark took a step back, trying to put a little more space between him and the cross that seemed to glare at him.

The closer it came, the weaker he felt.

Delicate wisps of smoke trailed the air thicker and thicker. Dark began to wheeze. The Guuji were no less than five feet away with the noxious odors pouring from them. It was getting to be too much; Dark felt the dormant wing muscles between his shoulder blades stretch and lift Daisuke's skin painfully. Both he and the redhead flinched at the boring sensation. The kaito grit his teeth and rolled his shoulders, trying to suppress the urge to run, or in this case, fly.

**'Dark, you're not a...'** Daisuke couldn't bring himself to say the horrible word. **'You're not bad. Do what you have to do to get out of here.'**

Dark looked all around him, thinking the predicament over, smiling slightly at Daisuke's bravery. It was imperative that he escape. The Guuji and that strange cross was not something that he wanted to contend with. But With was a little too far away and had already used a great deal of magic...

Amethyst searched along the walls of the shops that lined the alley. There was nothing on their smooth sides to jump to. And their roofs were far too high to leap. There wasn't even so much as a gutter to crawl in on the side of the alleyway. Not that he'd be small enough for one. 

The only way out was to get by either Kei or the two Guuji. Distraction would be the key here. Now, did the better option lay with busting past Kei, or the two Guuji? Dark came to an instant decision: two men with smoking leaves were better then getting any closer to that foul cross.

"Kei Hiwatari, I'm afraid I can't say finally getting to meet you is a pleasure." Kei's sly smile just oozed across his face wider. It was chilling in its disturbing intensity. "The way you make it sound," continued Dark, "is that you have a personal vendetta against me. Do you feel obligated to the Hikari Arts simply for adopting their last heir?" His tone was judgmental. Kei's steps shortened as he looked the thief up and down. The sleazy man was watching as well as evaluating.

"_You_ have no right to act that way towards me." Kei's emphasis let it known just what he thought of Dark. And he was getting way too close with that infernal cross. Every time it resonated Dark could feel his pulse hammering harder and harder. It was beginning to echo through his skull, giving him a most unpleasant headache. Whatever artifact it was, it was clear that it wasn't good for him. And judging by the design, it was made with him in mind...

Dark tried to reach discretely to his belt for a smoke bomb. However, he was stopped less than halfway to it.

"It's not a good idea to try to escape."

_Damn._

"Oh?" Though sweating profusely, Dark was enjoying the buzz adrenaline was giving him.

'Hold strong, Dai, this is going to hurt.'

Dark snatched the smoke bombs off regardless of Kei's warning, and threw them with force at the man's feet. Turning fast, he made to bust in-between the imposing Guuji. They weren't shocked as he knocked past them, nearly plowing them to the cobblestones. It was as if they had expected it. Behind them, Kei coughed once before his running steps slapped the stony ground. The purple-haired phantom gathered his magic as he ran full speed. His back quivered with anticipation. Undetectable in the night, the back of his sneaking suit bulged. Dark grit his teeth but forced himself to relax, and with an impressive leap, he stretched his limbs into the newly blowing wind; all six of them.

Relief crossed his features as he flapped, but his true wings being out were already taking a toll on Daisuke's energy. He didn't have long; so with a few heavy flaps that sent him nearly straight up, he cleared the roofs of the shops. He veered left directly over one almost immediately, wanting to put something between him and his would-be capturers.

And he wished to the high heavens that he hadn't.

Another Guuji was waiting on top. In fact, on every surrounding roof to the alley there was a Guuji waiting. Dark had a single instant to gasp before the Guuji leaped to and touched him. When the somber man retracted his arm there was a paper sutra stuck to his upper chest. Dark curled in on himself in midair, dropping straight down to the roof. The Guuji stepped a safe distance away as Dark took to thrashing and screaming. Purple magic flared like lightning across his body.

It burned. The sutra burned down to his blood, heating it and making molten lava rush through his innards. His very skin glowed, making his face a frightening sight as he managed to lift up and look the Guuji right in his eyes. Canines stood prominent in his mouth as his screams turned to angered shouts. But what stood the most prominent to the Guuji was the smoldering sutra blackening and shriving on Dark's chest.

Just as Dark stood, a look a vengeance in his shimmering gaze, the Guuji stepped forward on nimble feet and planted another sutra. This landed in the middle of the kaito's forehead. Dark's eyes went nearly white and his mouth opened in another wail. But with a strength that he shouldn't have had, Dark reached up and tore the symboled paper off. The Guuji retreated backward quickly, and Dark shoved off the roof, his vengeance forgotten.

He needed away. Now.

Trembling wings beat at the air as the corner of the building fell away from him. He was trying to force just as much air into his lungs as under his wings as he panted, flying with his mouth hanging open far as it could. Down below in the street, Kei looked up with glee. How the man was going to reach Dark from where he stood was a mystery, but Dark didn't want to chance anything right now. He quickly lifted into the cloak of night, all but blending in and completely disappearing. Believing himself safe, he turned his back on the men below, aiming for home.

That's when it happened.

An amethyst beam pierced him in the middle of his back, traveling all the way through to stick out his chest. He looked down in disbelief at the bright light as the end enlarged to replicate the size and shape of that cross. He looked behind him, seeing the beam stretch from the flashing stone of that horrible weapon in Kei's hands.

Before the pain even set in Dark felt the bright line through him being pulled. He was in a state of utter shock as he was yanked harshly backward. Black wings crumpled against gravity. His chest felt splintered; his body numb. His eyes blank, he hardly noted the river of black asphalt getting rapidly closer. Impact came swiftly and unforgiving. He crunched into a heap before the first two Guuji and Kei and started convulsing.

Kei chuckled and put away the cross. The beam of light disappeared as if it had never been, leaving no evidence sticking from the kaito. But he still lay jerking, his eyes rolled up into his skull. Nearly all the color was gone from his face. Unnaturally white lips parted and Dark made a sound, gurgled and choked. Scarlet flecks spewed and decorated his cheeks, dripping down his neck.

"He's broken something vital," one of the Guuji finally spoke, his voice deep and calm.

"With a fall like that, I don't doubt it," Kei responded joyfully. "Let's hurry and do this before he actually dies. I'm wanting to witness the pain of him being ripped from his host." Both Guuji frowned at Kei. Though he was human, Kei didn't seem to harness any better of a soul than the demons they sometimes banished. But there was nothing they could do about that.

The other Guuji assembled from off the roofs, and together four of them – one at Dark's arms and feet and the other two supporting a large black wing each – carted him back down the alleyway and into the back door of an unfurnished store. The windows were boarded and the hard floor slightly dusty. They deposited Dark's still jerking form in the middle of the place and gathered round.

"Ryo," spoke one of the Guuji to another, "use your healing chi – don't let the innocent boy die."

One of the youngest of their numbers nodded and stepped closer, bent to his knees, and started chanting; extending his hand to wave back and forth over the thief's body.

The middle-aged Guuji that had spoken hovered over Dark as the rest backed to form a close-knit circle. Kei watched the now coughing phantom thief with apt attention inside the human-made ring. Dark's limbs all jolted in haphazard motions. His back bowed and his eyes were wide open, but they still showed no signs of colored irises or pupils. The vivid veins in the twin white pools were bleeding, turning them a reddish-pink. His wings opened and closed around himself almost as if they had a mind of their own. It was a sorry sight as they slapped rapidly against the cold tiles of the floor. Dust stuck to the glossy coat of feathers, dulling them.

The oldest Guuji reached inside his robes and pulled out a string of beads and a small bottle of water. He knelt, wrapping the beads tightly around his hand and cracking open the water. Mumbling a few words, he poured some of the blessed water on his hand then touched the kaito's forehead and chest. Immediately, Dark gurgled out a deep, low growl.

"You will leave this boy," the Guuji commanded sternly. "Evil is not welcomed in his heart, nor will it be contained there." The man's robes made a soft rustle as he moved to press the beads against Dark's heart. Dark went completely still. His eyes slowly closed as his head tilted to lay across the floor. His body totally relaxed and he stopped breathing. The old Guuji turned to stare at the one named Ryo.

Ryo was sweating in the dim light of the single florescent light, his eyes scrunched tight in concentration. His chanting got suddenly quicker, as if he could sense his patient slipping away. But Dark surprised them all by suddenly catching his breath. Another good sign was no more blood came out of his mouth. The old Guuji suppressed a relieved sigh. He lifted and looked towards his circle of people.

"Ritsu, bring the burning sage."

The called man stood before Dark's head and waved his roll of burning leaves over his body.

"Be gone. Leave the boy alone," the old Guuji demanded again, kneeling once more. The blessed water came back into sight as the man poured some over Dark's lips. Some trailed into the kaito's mouth. He sputtered. Beads pressed over his heart and he gave a suffering groan. His skin swiftly began parching. It was as if he was drying out right before their eyes. Veins and arteries stood out as black lines under his skin. Dark panted and thrashed weakly.

"Out," the old Guuji persisted.

Dark cracked his eyes open and looked up. He could barely make out the shapes all around him. But that didn't matter. What mattered was his focus inside him and the little redhead curled protectively over his consciousness.

'Daisuke...' Even Dark's mental voice was raspy. '...This is going to kill you...'

But Daisuke held on to him tighter; his light in their mind sending the thief reassurance.

**'I'm not letting you go!'**

For all the troubles the phantom thief had caused him, he was still his closest friend.

'You might... not have... a choice.'

**'I do!'**

Dark softly chuckled, until he felt an alternating hot and cold in the very marrow of Daisuke's bones. Then the sensation dimmed, and he felt as if he was going to throw up. Dark got the strangest feeling that if he threw up the action would thrust him out.

'For your... own good...' Dark mentally unwound himself from the clinging Daisuke.

**'You're not evil!'** the Tamer persisted, trying to grab another hold, but failed.

'You sure? All the... reactions I've... had to the... _cleansing_.'

Daisuke nodded fervently. **'That cross was made with evil intentions, and I think Kei was holding it upside-down. And Kei must have also tampered with the water; probably poisoned it!'**

'Naïve,' Dark whispered with a ghost of a laugh.

"OUT!" the Guuji shouted.

Their body went rigid. Everything inside was shaking. And Dark's presence was fading fast.

**'NOOOOOO!'**

Their form was shrinking at last into Daisuke's. Amethyst eyes clouded over, then crimson shined through. Crimson also streaked through shortening purple locks, and black wings were shrinking.

"NOOOOOO!"

Victory near, the Guuji doubled their efforts. The circle of people around them began humming a steady note. The smoking sage became as thick as a blanket over them, and the old Guuji dripped a dab of oil from a different bottle over the beads. They burned like a heated chain through the sneaking suit; cutting their way into his heart.

Fury hit Daisuke. It slammed into him, chilling him even as it pumped acid through his veins. With his body caught halfway through the transformation back to his, Daisuke threw the old man's hand off his chest and curled on his side. Black wings stopped shrinking and shielded over him. The black feathers quickly turned a pure, bright crimson. Shocked, the old Guuji called for another sutra. Inside his feathery encasing, Daisuke held a few wisps of blackish smoke that had seeped from him.

"Dark," Daisuke whimpered. He stretched out of the feathers and wobbled to stand. Stunned, the Guuji didn't try to keep him down, but gathering his wits, the old one extended his hand to stick a sutra on the back of one red wing. Tired, but shaking with an unknown, indescribable energy, Daisuke looked over his shoulder and lowered the hunch of the one wing to see the man.

"I'm not evil, so that won't work on me."

Daisuke spread his wings with a forceful snap and the Guuji all retreated, unsure of how to handle this unexpected turn of events. Could the phantom thief really be housed in such a pure spirit? The sutra had done absolutely nothing! Meanwhile, Daisuke concentrated on the small wisps still in his grasp. With a smile he pressed them into his chest. They sunk in, and a bright glow engulfed his entire body.

The immense aura was powerful; it levitated Daisuke a few inches off the floor. Every person near could feel the happiness and warmth radiating from it plainly and strongly. It was a clear sign to the Guuji.

"Dark," Daisuke whispered happily. The kaito was too weak to answer back, but he was alive; his presence curling in the back of their mind.

When the shining light finally blinked out and died, red feathers fluttered as if caught in a windstorm. In the middle of a decorative pool of them, Daisuke lay unconscious, his back facing them. The ripped suit showed skin and smooth shoulder blades where the wings had disappeared. Kei smirked and walked forward.

"How disappointing; I'd wanted to see the ties broken." Kei reached into his suit's inner pocket and retrieved the silver cross. The stone of it leaked a nasty aura. He turned it in his palm to hold it like a dagger.

"I'll just have to finish you like this."

But wooden sandals clicked close. Kei looked up and behind him. All the Guuji were encircling him.

"You deceived us," the old Guuji spoke. "Our services are henceforth withdrawn from your care. I suggest you leave the boy alone. We may be people of peace, but we will not let an innocent be hurt while we stand watching."

Kei stood with a horrible scowl twisting his face.

"Did you forget who it was that funded and helped reestablished your dilapidated shrine!"

But Kei didn't have any chance of deterring their decision. Their set faces were completely impassive.

"You will be shut down for this!" Kei hissed, but the standing wall before him did not falter.

Straightening his tie and putting away the cross, Kei walked toward the door. The Guuji parted to let him go.

"We will stand guard here tonight. Ryo," spoke the old Guuji, "come aid to the boy's healing a little more."

The young man stepped from the circle again. He moved to Daisuke's sleeping form. Quickly, he took off the first layer of his robe. He folded it under Daisuke's vibrant red hair, then began his healing chant once more. His short black hair waved lightly with the force of his chi and his crisp blue eyes twinkled in a smile as Daisuke's sleeping face relaxed even more in peace.

The rest of the Guuji sat, crossing their legs on the floor. They stayed that way until dawn woke the land. Though once during the long night one of the Guuji screamed; With had come bounding awfully on their heads, but upon seeing Daisuke safe, calmed and climbed on top of the slightly snoring redhead. His little strawberry-red eyes had been just a bit unnerving to the Guuji, for he stared at them through all of the darkest hours.

**-****)*(****-**


End file.
